Unexpected Circumstances
by MissAllieMae
Summary: How do Harry and Pansy end up going to the Yule Ball together? And how does that effect their lives? Read to find out, and while your there, review.
1. Odd Matchups

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

A/N: So I wrote this like 6 months ago. It was the first thing I ever wrote, but I never posted it. I just found it, and decided to post it. I have the first few chapters written already, but then, we shall have to see how it goes. Depending on the response I get for it, I may or may not stop writing it.

R&R?

Pansy Parkinson, in her Hogwarts robes, looked at Malfoy, also in Hogwarts robes, in their corner of the Slytherin Common room. 'Why does he have to be soo hot?' She thought to herself, admiring how nice his blond hair and gray eyes looked against his pale skin. She wondered if he realized just how bloody amazing her hair looked today. She was acutely aware of the great affects the green light had on it.

"Draco, my Death Eater, I know I don't have to ask, but this is still making me really nervous." Pansy admitted, grudgingly, hoping that, for once, the boy of her dreams understood.

"What is it?" Malfoy replied, impatiently, looking very frustrated.

"Wi-will you g-go with me to the Yule Ball?" Pansy stuttered. She felt really nervous when Malfoy glanced all around the Slytherin common room…everywhere, but at her. He chewed his lip, nervously.

"Ummmm….listen, Parkinson, I'm going with someone else." Draco replied. Pansy's world tumbled down upon her and she looked at her boyfriend, no ex-boyfriend, with hate in her eyes.

"How could you?" She screamed, and the tears poured down her face. With that she ran out of the room, leaving Malfoy stunned, speechless, for the first time in his life.

Harry, after spending a full week waiting for an opportunity, finally saw his beautiful crush's long, black, silky hair, alone, without her friends. "Oh godddddddddddd. I have to do it, now. It's my only chance." He felt his stomach turn over, and over, and over, and over.

"Cho" he called, nervously.

"Yes." Cho replied, turning to see who had called her. It was Harry Potter, the famous Boy Who Lived, fellow seeker. "Oh, Hi Harry. What's up?"

"Nothing much. I have a quick question for you, though." Harry replied, hoping he didn't look as nervous as he felt. He noticed that her brown eyes contrasted nicely with the freckles on her face. How he loved those freckles.

"Sure, Harry. Ask away." She replied, her voice sounding smooth and silky, like her hair. He couldn't believe he was actually thinking these thoughts.

Out loud, he continued, working hard to keep his voice steady, "I was wondering if….if you were going to the Yule Ball with anyone? Cuz I was hoping you would come with me. If, if you wanted to, that is." That came out horribly wrong, he reflected.

"Oh. Harry. I am sooo sorry. I want to say yes so badly, but I can't. You see, I'm going with someone else." Cho replied with a sad tone. Her perfect mouth, featured so often in his dreams, turned into a frown

"Um. Ok, I guess. Just of curiosity, who are you going with?" Now who am I going to go with? And, as a competitor, I HAVE to go, and with a date.

"Cedric Diggory." Great. The other, extremely handsome (according to all the girls who squeal when he walks past) Hogwarts competitor, also the Hufflepuff seeker.

"Oh. Ok. Well, I'll see you around." Harry tried not to sound too dejected over the situation, but it hurt a lot.

"Bye, Harry. I truly am sorry." Yeah, right. The 2 most popular boys in Hogwarts asked you to the Yule Ball, and you're going with the more handsome one. You're not sorry at all, and all of the girls are going to be so jealous of you. Meanwhile, I gotta find a date, and fast.

Harry wandered through some hallways trying to figure out what just happened. He had asked Cho Chang out, only to discover that the girl of his dreams is going with Diggory. He looked up when he heard hoots all around him, and found himself in the owlery. When he realized this, Harry looked down at his feet, to see that he had stepped in owl droppings. "Bloody hell, can this day get any worse?" he muttered.

From behind him, Harry heard a rustling of hay and sniffles that most certainly did not come from an owl. He turned around, and found himself looking at the tear-streaked face of Pansy Parkinson. She looked back at his depressed expression and to Harry's surprise, didn't move or say anything. He, rather nervously, took this as a signal to sit down next to her.

"Hi Potter," Parkinson said meekly, her voice actually sounding nice, without the usual sneer or disgust in it.

"Hey. I know we're not exactly friends," Harry began but paused for a moment when Pansy gave a small laugh. "but," he continued, hoping he was doing the right thing, "maybe I can help you, if you want to tell me what's wrong. I promise I won't laugh or be mean or anything. That is, if you want to. If you don't, that's ok and I'll leave you alone."

Pansy laughed as he started to ramble. "Harry, I'll tell you why I'm sitting in the owlery, crying my eyes out, if you tell me why you wandered up here with that distant, hurt look on your face."

In that moment, Harry for some inexplicable reason decided he could trust the Slytherin girl. "Ok, Fine. But, you have to go first." He listened patiently as Pansy told him of her rejection. He found himself awkwardly patting her back, as she cried into his shoulder. "Pansy," he whispered, "its okay. You'll find a date. There are MUCH better guys than that git."

"But I don't want any date. I want Draco," she cried, as a new round of tears flowed down her face.

"Shhhh," Harry tried to sooth the girl, and was disappointed in his lack of knowledge about this subject. "Do you want to hear my story?"

"Yes. I do," she manages to get out, in between the sobs.

Harry told Pansy about his crush on Cho, since that fateful Gryffindor-Ravenclaw match. He told her how he finally caught Cho alone and asked her to go with him, and she said no, because she was going with Cedric Diggory.

"Oh. Harry, I'm sorry. But, at least for you, it won't be difficult to get a date. EVERY girl wants to go with the 'Chosen One'" Pansy said.

Despite knowing this wasn't really the time to tease, Harry did so anyway.  
>"Even you?" he asked in a teasing voice, raising his eyebrows in question.<p>

Pansy bit her lip and looked at him for a long time, before answering. "Yes, I would. You're hot enough." She laughed.

"But you're a Slytherin, and your dad was a Death Eater. You can't prance around with the Boy-Who-Lived."

Pansy looked deep into Harry's green eyes and got a serious look on her face. "Can I tell you something? Something I've never told anyone else before?"

Harry looked at Pansy with what he knew was an odd look, but said yes, anyway.

She took a deep breath, "I hate being a Slytherin. The daughter of a Death Eater. Defending Malfoy's injury, in order to help get Hagrid fired. I actually like Hagrid." She paused and looked at Harry with a sad look on his face.

"Not to be rude, but you certainly don't act like it." Harry said in a kind voice,

"See, the thing is, I never wanted to be in Slytherin. In fact, the Sorting Hat was going to put me in Hufflepuff, but at the last moment decided on throwing me into Slytherin."

"You know, the Sorting Hat almost put me in Slytherin," Harry confessed, "But, I asked it to not, and he complied. So, I am in Gryffindor."

"Really? So, I could have prevented this?" Pansy asked.

"Umm…" Harry started, without really knowing what he was going to say, "I guess so. I don't know for sure though."

"Oh." Pansy said, sounding slightly dejected. "Tell me about you, Potter. I mean, all I really know about you is that you defeated the Dark Lord, and that I am, as a Slytherin, supposed to hate you."

Harry laughed at this description, then thought about what to tell her. "Well, until July before our first year, I didn't even know that there were actually witches and wizards, never mind that I was one." Harry continued to tell the story of the week spent, running from Hogwarts letters, and his first encounter with magic: Hagrid. Then, he told of how amazed he was in Diagon Alley.

"Wow. So you had no idea. You were raised by Muggle relatives, then." Harry nodded in response, before Pansy continued, "How did they explain your lightening bolt scar and your parents' deaths, then?"

"I was told that they died from a car accident, and that the scar came from that."

"Wow. So, what's growing up in a Muggle house like?" Pansy asked, her voice filled with curiosity.

"Well, I can't exactly answer that." Harry found himself talking about how awful the Dursleys were to him, and how spoiled his brat of a cousin, Dudley, was. He looked at Pansy, to find her jaw dropped in shock. Then, she started getting upset.

"Oh, Harry. It must have been AWFUL for you. I'm sooo sorry. I never knew this."

"Well, not everyone can have a good life," Harry started, feeling his eyes start to fill up with tears.

Pansy, seeing this, interrupted, "Harry, it's okay to cry. We all have to do it occasionally. You comforted me, and now it's my turn." Harry decided to let them fall.

Five minutes later, he looked at Pansy. "Thanks. You know, I've never noticed how pretty you are."

"Thanks. Harry. That's sweet of you."

"I have an idea," Harry started nervously. "What if we…what if the t-two of us go to the Yule Ball?" Pansy brightened up at that sentence.

"Harry, that's a wonderful idea." Harry, for whatever unknown reason, leaned over and kissed Pansy Parkinson, the Slytherin girl he was taking to the Yule Ball. She didn't pull away, either. It was a light, beautiful kiss.

He pulled back and looked at Pansy with a serious, but happy expression, "But, you can't tell anyone we are going together. We don't need to start the gossip any earlier than necessary, ok?"

"Ok," Pansy said with a smile.

A/N: What do you think? Good enough to continue? Also, if you can come up with a better title, let me know.


	2. The Matchups Get Odder

Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Harry Potter.

A/N: Thanks for all the support, guys! I really appreciate it. I am continuing this story, at least for now.

Enjoy!

Back in the Gryffindor common room, Ron was sitting by the fireplace trying to get his essay done for Snape. His mind, however, kept floating back to two things: the Yule Ball, and where Harry was. As he was speculating about his best mate's location, Harry walked in, with a tired look in his eye, and his shoulder looked kind of wet. "Harry, where have you been? I need your help with Snape's essay."

"Later, Ron. First, we have to discuss who you are bringing to the Yule Ball."

"Who are you to talk?" Ron retorted.

"I have a date…."Harry trailed off, not quite ready to tell him about Pansy.

"Who?" Ron wanted to know.

"I'm not telling. It's going to be a complete surprise. She's not telling anyone, either."

"Fine," Ron grunted.

"More importantly: Who are you bringing?"

"Um. I have no idea. You know I'm rubbish around girls."

Fred and George, who apparently overheard that last sentence, joined the two by the fireplace. "Listen, Ron," Fred began.

"It's not that hard to ask," George continued.

"a girl out," Fred finished,

"Oh really," Ron retorted, "so who are you guys bringing?"

"The two free chasers." Fred said.

"Lucky for us, Katie is going with Krum," George stated.

"That way, we don't have to pick," Fred said laughing.

"When did you ask them?" Harry asked.

"Umm," George said, looking at Fred, "We haven't yet."

"Good point, my fine brother o' mine." Fred stated. "Angelina," he called, "Wanna go to the Yule Ball with me?"

"Sure," Katie shouted back from where she was sitting with Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet.

"And you, Spinnet, are you coming with me?," George asked, interrupting their conversation on the Holyhead Harpies.

"Yup," Alicia yelled.

"Now that that's taken care of, we have an invention to work on." Fred said.

"See ya later," Harry replied, turning to Ron. "So, who are you taking?"

"I dunno. Maybe I'll just ask Hermione," he replied.

Both boys turned to where their smart, bushy haired, brown eyed friend was talking to Ron's little sister, Ginny. They had been discussing Ginny's transfiguration homework, but when Ron and Harry turned, they saw a much different sight. Ginny was silently shaking, with tears running down her face, while Hermione comforted her. The boys looked at each other and then started towards the two girls. When Ginny saw them coming, however, she turned and ran up the steps, to the girls' dorms.

"Oh, I should go comfort her," Hermione said.

"No, wait," Ron said, quietly. Hermione looked at him, confusion on her face. "I have something I need to ask you."

"About Snape's essay? I'll look at it later," Hermione said, tiredly.

"No, no. Do you wanna come with me to the Yule Ball?" Ron asked. Harry was surprised how confident he sounded.

"Ron, that's really sweet of you, but I already have a date," Hermione said.

"Oh. Who?" Ron asked, trying not to sound disappointed. He had been looking forward to going to the ball with Hermione.

"Justin Finch-Fletchley," Hermione stated. Harry made a face, but Hermione couldn't see it from her position.

"Oh. Okay. You can go now." Ron replied. He turned to Harry with a bewildered look. Harry, in return, just shrugged his shoulders.

After a minute, Harry said, "I have an idea," and walked over to where Paravati Patil and Lavender Brown were sitting, gossiping over Binns' homework.

"Hey girls. Can we talk?" Harry asked,

"Sure. What's up?" Lavender replied, while Paravati cleared spots for them to sit.

"I have a couple of questions," Harry started.

"Why would Hermione go to the Yule Ball with Justin Finch-Fletchley, of all people?" Harry asked. He didn't exactly like the Hufflepuff, after the Chamber of Secrets disaster.

"Well, first off, he's muggle born, like her. He's smart, funny," Lavender started.

"And don't forget hot." Paravati added.

"But, does she like him?" Ron asked, for clarification.

"No, but as seeing that the bloke she does fancy is too thick to ask her to go with him, and Justin did invite her, she said yes," Lavender answered.

"Oh. Ok." Ron said, "Do you think the only reason she said no to me was because she already said yes to Justin?"

"Oooo-You asked her to the Yule Ball?" Paravati squealed, giggling.

"Yeah, I did," Ron replied, trying to figure out what the big deal was.

"To answer your question, Ron, yes I do believe so," Lavender said. "Is there a reason you ask?" she continued, with a knowing look.

"No, of course not," Ron replied all too quickly. Harry made a mental note to drill him about it later.

"Do you know why Ginny was crying?" Harry said, mostly to help Ron escape from Lavender and Paravati's looks

Paravati and Lavender exchanged looks, which Harry could not decipher, before Lavender answered, "well, do you have a date for the Yule Ball?" Harry nodded. "Were you just talking about it with Ron?" Harry nodded once again. "Could she have overheard your conversation?" Harry and Ron looked at each other, before Harry responded, "I-I guess so. And why would this make her cry?" He hoped he didn't sound too daft.

"She fancies you, Harry, and was hoping you'd ask her to the ball." Paravati said. Harry couldn't come up with a response for that, so he was glad when Ron chimed in, saying "About my last question…." And trailed off.

"Go ahead, Ron. Ask whatever you want." Lavender encouraged.

"Erm….ok," Ron took a deep breath, and Harry had a feeling he knew where this was going. "Lavender,WillyougowithmetotheYuleBall?" Ron asked in one breath.

"Sure, Ron," Lavender squealed, squashing him in a hug that would give Mrs. Weasley a run for her money.

"Ron," Harry said, before this could get too awkward for Harry and Paravati, "We have to work on Snape's essay."

"Oh, right," he said, pulling out of Lavender's hug.

As soon as they were out of ear shot of the two biggest gossips in the school, Harry turned to Ron. "Out with it. Why did you ask them about why Hermione turned you down."

"This will probably surprise you," Ron started, "but I really fancy Hermione."

Harry had to bite back a laugh. "I suspected as much. You know, I think the feeling's mutual."

"Really?" Ron's face lit up.

"Yup. And, what made you ask Lavender?"

"Well, I don't really know. She's really hot, and not all that annoying. Plus, I needed a date. Earlier, I heard that while both Patil twins had dates, Lavender didn't. So, I just did it." Harry admired his friend for his braveness.

A/N: What do you think?


	3. irony

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, JKR declined my request that she give me the ownership of Harry Potter, so, not for lack of trying, I don't own Harry Potter.

A/N: Chapter 3, guys. So far, I am definitely going to keep writing it. Thanks for the support!

The week between that fateful night and the Yule Ball passed without much interest, except for one event. Two days before the big night, Harry was sitting at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, during lunch. He was busy avoiding Cho and Ginny's eyes and ignoring Ron and Hermione's pointless, usual bickering. He turned his head to see Crabbe, Goyle, Malfoy and Pansy walking towards the trio. "Uh Oh," Harry said.

"What?" Hermione inquired.

"Look who's coming our way," Harry said. Ron grunted in response. Of course, only Harry and Pansy knew the full complications of what was about to go down. Harry wasn't sure how he was supposed to act towards his date, but figured he'd follow her lead. Their eyes met for a second, but quickly left each other, to sneer at Malfoy, or in Pansy's case, Hermione.

"Did you actually think Chang was going to go to the ball with you?" Malfoy sneered.

"Yeah why would ANYONE want to go to the ball with you?" Pansy added, trying really hard not to laugh at the extreme irony of that sentence.

"Cho only said no because Diggory asked her first." Hermione said. Harry kind of wondered why she didn't let him answer, but didn't dwell on it for long.

"Oh. And who are you going with, Mudblood?" Pansy asked, but Harry could tell she didn't like it. He was surprised how easy it was to tell, now that he knew the truth about the 'Slytherin.'

"Don't call her that," Ron responded, "Pure blood." He said it with such repulsiveness and disgust, it sounded worse than mudblood.

"Defend your girlfriend, blood traitor. Honestly, Potter, how do you hang out with such lowly wizards, if you can even call them that?" Malfoy asked.

"I, like my parents and Dumbledore, know that blood status doesn't matter. It's more important to be smart, and kind, and loving. Hermione and Ron are much better people than Crabbe and Goyle, who haven't said a word in this conversation because they're too daft to understand what's going on. And, don't even get me started on what's wrong with Pansy." Harry added that last part, for good measure, hoping she knew he didn't mean it.

Apparently, Crabbe and Goyle managed to get that last part, because they moved to attack Harry and Ron, but Malfoy held them back. Moody had just walked into the Great Hall, and he never wanted to be a ferret again. Malfoy shivered at the thought, and turning to Crabbe and Goyle, he said "Come on. Leave the losers to their homework." He gave them one last sneer, and walked away.

Pansy lingered, and after glancing around to make sure no one was watching her, turned to Harry. "Sorry, Harry. There was no way that could have been avoided."

"Alright. See you in double potions," and Pansy ran to catch up with Malfoy.

Harry was thankful that Ron and Hermione kept quiet through his conversation with Pansy, but he couldn't ignore the odd looks they were giving him." I'll explain later. We've got to get to potions. We have double with the Slytherins." Ron groaned a response.

Once in the Potions dungeon, the Gryffindor trio sat at their usual place, and waited for Snape to give them their directions. Harry didn't say anything, but from the looks on their faces, his two best mates wanted him to. Instead of attempting to explain, his thoughts wandered back to the other thing that was ever present on Harry's mind lately: the mysterious golden egg. He just didn't get it. He might be telling people he's almost got it, but truthfully, Harry had absolutely no idea. When he opened it, it just wailed. Hmmm….babies? What sort of challenge could involve a baby? It just didn't make sense. What else wails? He just didn't know. Harry came back to the class, to find Snape standing right in front of him, staring him down. 'Uh Oh,' he thought.

"Potter. Now that you are paying attention, I asked to work over there at the table with Pansy. She looks kind of bored and you and your idiotic attempts at potion making would be great entertainment."

Harry couldn't believe his luck, and had to work really hard to keep a steady, annoyed tone, "Sure. Whatever you want."

"Yes, Professor." Snape corrected, and waited for Harry to repeat it, before continuing, "30 points from Gryffindor." Harry grumbled in irritation and moved his things across the room to a table that was conveniently off to the side, and had one student sitting at it: Pansy Parkinson.

"Hey," Harry said.

"Hi Harry." She replied, "This is great."

"I know, right? Merlin only knows how we got so lucky."

"I'm so excited for the ball. What are you wearing? Cuz I have a couple of choices and want to make sure we don't clash."

Harry didn't understand what the big fuss was, but replied anyway. "Green. Mrs. Weasley picked them out, and said that they would look nice with my eyes."

"She has good taste. Surprising, considering what the blood-traitors have been seen wearing." She stopped after seeing the glare on Harry's face. "Oh. Sorry, it's kind of hard to not say something like that, considering that I always have to pretend like that."

"It's ok." Harry said. The two worked diligently through potions, and chatted throughout the whole class. For once, Harry really enjoyed Snape's class.

As they left potions, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle decided to block Harry's path. "You and Parkinson seemed to be chatting up a storm at your cozy table for two."

"Yeah. I asked her how she could go out with such an ugly git." Harry said, amused at the look on Malfoy's face.

Malfoy laughed, mockingly. "You think you're so funny, making fun of her boyfriend. Well, I will tell him that you called him an ugly git."

Ron, who had been laughing, stopped and got a confused look for a second. Hermione, too, had a confused look, but she quickly recovered. "Uh. So, she regained her wits, and dumped you."

Pansy joined the conversation, saying, "No Hermione. I wish I had, though. Instead, he cheated on me. He asked Bulstrode to the ball, not his 'girlfriend.'"

"I'm so sorry, Pansy."" Hermione couldn't help but comfort her.

"At first, I was really upset. But, I'm going with someone else much better," Pansy admitted, looking at the floor. Harry, Hermione noticed, was doing the same.

"Well, that doesn't mean much. The only people worse than Malfoy are Crabbe, Goyle and that friendless loser, Blaise Zabini.." Ron said.

"Who?" Harry asked confused. He was pretty sure there wasn't anyone at Hogwarts with the name Blaise Zabini.

"He's a Slytherin in our year." Hermione said.

"Ummm…ok." Harry said. "Let's go to herbology,"

Hermione, Ron and Harry were sitting in the common room, discussing the new charm they learned in Flitwick's class, today. Hermione looked up from the book she was consulting, regarding the mending charm. Harry had a feeling he knew where this was going, and was dreading it. He had a felt like they wouldn't accept this story well. Harry, in fact, thought that Hermione will probably convince him that it is a joke and that Pansy and Malfoy would actually be going together. That way, Harry would think he had a date, and look like a loser, without one.

"Harry. I know that there was something up with you and Parkinson, today." Hermione started, cautiously.

"Yeah, I know it seemed weird. This story is going to sound crazy. So a couple days ago, I finally see Cho alone without her herd of friends." Harry told them the story of that interesting day, mostly uninterrupted.

Hermione had a skeptical look on her face. "It's a scam."

Harry got her off, before she could elaborate. "At first, I thought that maybe this might be one. But, after listening to her pour her heart out, I could tell that she wasn't putting one past me."

"If your sure…." Hermione said. "So, Ron. Did you find someone to go to the ball with?"

"Oh…erm, yeah," Ron said, "Yeah, I'm going with Lavender."

"oh. That's lucky." Hermione said. Harry thought she sounded sort of unhappy about it. Harry decided to change the subject.

"Hermione?" Harry asked

"Yes, you can borrow my History of Magic notes for your essay."

"Thanks, Hermione. You're the best." Harry said.

A/N: Reviews, by any chance?

And I'd really appreciate it if the people who fav and alert my stories also review them. Although, I appreciate any or all three gestures.


	4. The Morning Of

Chapter 4 Christmas

Disclaimer: Still don't own it!

A/N: Soooo sorry this four days late! I feel soo bad. Hopefully, though, you guys will all review still!

The night before the Yule Ball, Harry lay in his four-poster, but he couldn't sleep. He lay there, thinking about the next day. He was excited to spend the night with Pansy, but he knew this was going to cause many problems for them. It would probably be worse for Pansy. She will most likely have to tell her story, about how she doesn't feel like she belongs in Slytherin, and that she feels more like a Hufflepuff. Now that he thought about it, Harry remembered that a lot of Pansy's "friends" asked her to find something, when it went missing. Yes, she was absolutely a good finder. Anyway, back to the issues. He hated being the center of all the gossip. He wondered how Pansy would handle it, though. She wasn't used to it. She wasn't the one who was tortured as the 'Heir of Slytherin' during second year. She wasn't ogled at, no matter where she went, for having a lightening scar on her head. But, he would be there for her the whole time, and they would definitely be using his invisibility cloak and the Maurders Map. He still couldn't believe that his father, Lupin, and Sirius were three of the four who made the map. He sometimes wondered if James would be proud, or disappointed about how much he snuck out, and broke the rules. Sirius said he would be proud, but Lupin didn't always agree. Harry shook his head, to clear it. After a little more time, spent with Harry's head thinking in circles, he remembered that it was also going to be the day before Christmas. Christmas was always an emotional time for Harry, since it's a holiday so focused around family, and he didn't have any.

The next morning, Ron woke up Harry, in a frenzy. "Harry! Come on! I'm starving. Let's go find Hermione and get some breakfast."

"Why are you in such a rush?" Harry asked, rubbing his eyes of the sleep he was just awoken from.

"Cuz I'm nervous! What do I do when I'm nervous? I eat! Plus, when do I not wake up starving?" Ron said.

Well, Harry knew that was true, so he got up to get dressed.

Fifteen minutes later, the three friends were sitting at the Gryffindor table. Harry noticed that there was a very small amount of owls, today. He was used to this during Holiday, because there weren't usually many people at Hogwarts. But, due to the Yule Ball, a lot of people stayed.

"We should visit Hagrid, today." Hermione said. "We don't really have time during classes, so we should use the time to see him."

"Yeah. You know how he gets when we don't visit for a while." Harry said. Ron, for once, remembered to not talk with his mouth full, and so he didn't comment. He only nodded.  
>Nearly Headless Nick sat down next to them. "Merry Christmas, fellow Gryffindors.<p>

"Merry Christmas, Nearly Headless Nick." Harry replied. "How have you been?"

"Good. You three?"

"We're fine, thanks." Hermione said, while the Gryffindor ghost looked at Ron, wistfully.

Harry noticed and said, "We haven't really seen you around, lately. What have you been up to?"

"Oh, I've been visiting some of my friends. There was a ghost convention, too. And, you didn't have to be headless to go." He said, putting emphasis on the word headless. Harry winced, remembering the Headless Hunt, which Nick was not allowed to enter.

"Oh. Very nice. Did the other Hogwarts ghosts join you?" Hermione asked.

"Just the Bloody Baron," Nick replied.

"Cool," Ron said, finally not having too much food in his mouth to make a comment.

"Well, as nice as it has been talking to you three, I must be off, I heard something about Peeves and Dungbombs, so I must find the Bloody Baron," He said, as he floated away.

"Good luck," Hermione called after him. "Well, are you two done eating? We might as well head to Hagrid's hut, now."

"Ok." Harry replied. "Let's go!" The trio left the table and headed outside.

Harry knocked on the door, and heard Fang barking. Hagrid opened the door, "Merry Christmas. Come in."

"Merry Christmas, Hagrid," the three said.

"I was 'opin you three would come down to me cabin. I was worried you'd forgotten me."

"We could never forget you," Hermione laughed.

"Would you like some rock cakes?" He offered.

Harry said, "Sure," and braced himself. He's eaten Hagrid's cooking before, and knew it isn't the best.

The morning soon turned to mid-afternoon. Hermione, upon realizing this fact, stood up rather fast, and said, "I have to go. It's late. Bye, Hagrid. C'mon Ron, Harry." She left, leaving the three blokes looking at each other.

Harry shrugged, and said, "I guess we're leaving."

Ron, looking outside and seeing Hermione tapping her foot impatiently at them, said, "Yeah. Good to see you, Hagrid."

"You too. I'll be seeing you tonight, then."

"Yeah. See ya." Harry said, him and Ron walking outside.

Ron and Harry discovered that Hermione had left in such short notice because she had to get ready for the Yule Ball. This being the case with all of the other Gryffindor girls, the common room was full of groaning blokes.

"Do we really have to do this?" Ron asked Harry.

"Yes, Ron," Harry said, sighing. Ron had asked this question a hundred times, since that night when he asked Lavender to go with him. "As a competitor in the tournament, I have to go. And because I have to suffer through this night, you, as my best mate, must suffer along with me."

"Ughhh." Ron said. "I really don't want to put on my dress robes." Harry had to work really hard to stop himself from chuckling.

"Hey. I have an idea! Let's go to our dorm." Harry exclaimed, jumping up.

"Get out your dress robes and lay them on your bed," Harry said, while Ron sat with a confused look on his face."

"Ok. You do know I think you've gone mad, right?" Ron said.

"Yeah. But you won't in a minute. Now, it would be better if Hermione was here. However, I'll have to manage on my own," Harry muttered half to himself. "Diffendo."

Ron yelled, "Blimey. That was awesome." The lace had been severed off of the robes, but that was not the only improvement Harry made. He also cast the color-changing charm, to turn Ron's robe to a nice blue.

"Here you go, Ron. Better?"

"Loads. Thanks, mate. Maybe this won't be so terrible after all."

Harry smiled, "good. Now, let's get ready. We don't have all that much time until you have to meet Lavender."

"True." They both got their dress robes on, and fixed their hair. Well, Ron did, while Harry attempted, to no avail.

'Oh well,' Harry thought, 'I hope Pansy doesn't mind.'

The two boys left their dorm mates nervously preparing for the dance, and went downstairs.

A/N: What do you guys think?


End file.
